According to a document seen by Reuters, Apple has asked India’s antitrust regulators to dismiss allegations of abuse of market power in the app market, saying that its participation in Google’s dominant South Asian countries is too small.

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The document was submitted after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) began reviewing allegations that Apple harmed competition by forcing app developers to use its proprietary system, which can charge commissions of up to 30% for in-app purchases. Apple denied these allegations in its statement. Submitted to CCI and emphasized that its market share in India is “insignificant” 0-5%, while Google accounts for 90-100%, because its Android operating system supports most other smartphones.

“Apple is not dominant in the Indian market… Without a dominant position, there will be no abuse,” Apple said in its submission dated November 16, which was written by its chief compliance officer Kay Kay. Signed by Kyle Andeer.

“It has been determined that Google is the dominant player in India,” it added.

Apple and CCI did not respond to requests for comment. When asked about what Apple said in the document, a spokesperson for Alphabet Inc’s Google declined to comment.

The plaintiff in this case is a little-known non-profit organization “Together We Fight Society”, which stated that Apple of iOS dominates the market for unauthorized mobile operating systems.

Apple retorted in its submission that the entire smartphone market—including licensable systems such as Android—is a market that should be considered.

Apple also described India’s complaint as an “agent file” in its CCI submission, stating that the complainant “may act in concert with Apple’s ongoing commercial and contractual disputes worldwide and/or with other regulatory agencies. “.

The American technology company did not provide any evidence in the materials submitted to support its claim. The non-profit organization told Reuters that Apple’s remarks “damaged the thinking of CCI” “without any evidence.” If it finds that it has no value, it is completely the case. The details of the CCI investigation were not publicly disclosed.

After Indian startups expressed their concerns last year, CCI is separately investigating Google’s in-app payment system as part of a broader investigation of the company.

According to data from Counterpoint Research, as of the end of 2020, Apple’s iOS powers about 2% of India’s 520 million smartphones, and the rest use Android. However, it added that Apple’s smartphone base in the country has been in the past five years. More than doubled.

Complete News Source : The Hindu